It is common knowledge to provide a movable surface, such as a sunroof, to cover an opening in a roof, including vehicles such as automobiles. Traditional sunroofs typically employ a transparent glass pane slidable from a covering position, somewhat flush to the roof, to a retracted position, which allows sunlight and/or ventilation access through the roof opening.
Although many vehicle movable surfaces retract into the interior of the vehicle, it is also known in the art to provide sunroofs that lift and slide to an open position on the exterior of the vehicle. These can be referred to as “spoiler” sunroofs and are described generally at U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,464,267 and 6,695,398 to Racine et al. of Webasto Sunroofs, Inc. of Rochester Hills, Mich., both incorporated by reference herein. A typical spoiler-type sunroof is capable of moving between a closed position, wherein the sunroof panel substantially seals the opening in the roof, a vent position wherein the panel is angled relative to the roof such that a rearward (and in some cases forward) end of the panel is disposed above the roof, and an open position wherein the sunroof panel is disposed substantially rearward of the opening. Specifically, a typical spoiler sunroof includes a pair of tracks on each of which is mounted a lift arm and lift mechanism. The lift arms are connected to the panel and are operatively connected to the lift mechanism so that the lift arms may be pivoted about a forward pivot point. This design requires the panel to be supported in a somewhat cantilevered manner, since all but a forward portion of the sunroof panel is disposed behind the opening when the panel is in the open position.
Given these design constraints, typical spoiler-type sunroof mechanisms have tended to be somewhat complicated to effect the desired panel movement. Additionally, as the sunroof panels are deployed above the roof in the vent and open positions, there is a relatively large force directed onto the panel when the vehicle, such as an automobile, is moving due to wind resistance on the panel. Therefore, the mechanisms to support the panel need to be relatively strong to support the panel in a stable manner and resist deflection of the mechanism and possible damage to the mechanism itself and/or the panel.
Movable surfaces are also known in the art for marine applications. Marine vehicles (e.g., boats) and the marine environment can pose a different set of design and engineering challenges compared to land-based vehicles. Boats can be quite large and thus allow the possibility for very large movable surfaces in the form of hatches, sunroofs, or even large sections of its deck surfaces (e.g., 3 meters by 3 meters). Also, since these movable surfaces can be exposed to extreme weather and water conditions, it is necessary to provide a weather tight seal in a closed position to prevent leakage. Simple marine sunroofs are known in the art, but are not suited for a tight seal against the elements. For example, a sliding roof hatch is known, such as the one sold by ERTEC of Denmark. This hatch is a simple marine hatch that slides along a fixed track and has a braking mechanism to lock the hatch into a desired position. The ERTEC hatch offers no significant protection from marine conditions. This is also true of a hard bimini top type sunroof, such as one sold by BESENZONI of Italy. BOFOR of Turkey also produces marine hatches. Here again, a sunroof is movable along a simple fixed track. In these instances it appears the hatches, in a closed position, are not intended to seal an interior space from the marine environment.
Further, movement of large movable surfaces can also add to design challenges, especially given the crown (or ‘bow-up’) of various marine roof decks. A mounting bracket for a large moveable surface may have to change its orientation between the deck and surface along its travel path. Further, the need to motorize the movement of the surface also increases with surface size.
Thus, there is a desire and a need in the art to provide a motorized movable roof surface suitable for the marine environment that provides a sufficient seal in a closed position to protect an interior space from marine elements and allows flexible mounting of the movable surface along its travel.